Henkes, Kevin (1960-…), is an American illustrator and author known for his picture books and novels for children. His picture book Kitten’s First Full Moon (2004) received the 2005 Caldecott Medal. The medal is awarded annually to the outstanding picture book by an American. Henkes was honored for his lifetime contribution to children’s literature with the Regina Medal in 2013 and the Children’s Literature Legacy Award in 2020.
In Kitten’s First Full Moon, Henkes used colored pencils and a style of water color called gouache to illustrate the simple story of a kitten who thinks the moon is a bowl of milk. The illustrations feature bold shapes and contrasting shades of black, gray, and white. The book is noted for its skillful page designs and lettering and its rhythmic text.
Henkes has won praise for his warm, humorous, and realistic books about children and their relationships with others. Many of his books focus on children’s friendships, security, and comfort. These were the themes of his first two books, All Alone (1981) and Clean Enough (1982), which he wrote and illustrated. Henkes also wrote and illustrated Bailey Goes Camping (1985), Grandpa and Bo (1986), Jessica (1989), A Good Day (2007), Old Bear (2008), Waiting (2015), Egg (2017), and A House (2021).
Henkes has also written and illustrated several clever but sensitive books with mouse characters, especially an imaginative and lively young mouse named Lilly. Henkes’s “mouse books” include A Weekend with Wendell (1986), Sheila Rae, the Brave (1987), Chester’s Way (1988), Chrysanthemum (1991), Owen (1993), Julius, the Baby of the World (1995), Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (1996), and Penny and Her Song (2012).
Henkes has written several novels for children. They include Return to Sender (1984), Words of Stone (1992), Protecting Marie (1995), Sun and Spoon (1997), Olive’s Ocean (2003), Bird Lake Moon (2008), and Junonia (2011). He wrote The Year of Billy Miller (2013); the sequel Billy Miller Makes a Wish (2021); and Oh, Sal (2022) about Billy’s younger sister. Henkes has also written picture books illustrated by other artists, including Good-bye, Curtis (1995), illustrated by Marisabina Russo; Circle Dogs (1998), illustrated by Dan Yaccarino; and So Happy (2005), illustrated by Anita Lobel; and the books Birds (2009), When Spring Comes (2016), and Little Houses (2022), all illustrated by his wife, Laura Dronzek.
Henkes was born on Nov. 27, 1960, in Racine, Wisconsin. He began his career as an illustrator and author at the age of 19.
